Shop Premises Of Charles Riches And Private House To Rear

The building consists of the shop premises of Charles Riches and a private house to the rear, dating from the 18th century, with a shop building from the 19th century at the corner and an earlier lower part in Church Street. It features a tall timber frame plastered house with a steep tiled roof, and the front is lined with ashlar. The south flank wall, uncovered by demolition in 1981, revealed panelled chevron pargetting that had been covered over in the 19th century. The structure has two storeys above a brick base and a symmetrical five-window front. It includes flush box sashes with glazing bars and a modillioned eaves cornice. The central entrance consists of a six-panel door, with pilasters supporting a full entablature that features a Gothic fret in the frieze and a triangular pediment. The adjacent shop building has a two-storey plastered facade with a steep hipped slate roof, overhanging bracketed eaves, and a deep plain frieze leading up to a canted corner. The three-window, two-storey section in Church Street has similar bracketed eaves to its slate roof but lacks a frieze. It features flush box sash windows with moulded architraves, although these are late 19th century, with 2/2 paned sashes. The continuous 19th-century shop front includes paired pilasters, a deep fascia, and paired brackets supporting a continuous overhanging cornice. These interesting buildings are prominent in street views.